News Vale Bruce Ruxton.

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mattys123

mattys123

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Bruce Ruxton passed away this afternoon, he was 85 years old.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/mo...ton-dead-aged-85/story-fn7x8me2-1226229630185

Bruce was a lifelong Collingwood fan, who those of us of the slightly older generation would have seen many a time at the footy. He was instrumental in the creation of the successful Collingwood vs Essendon ANZAC day fixture.

He was also the President of the Victorian RSL for so long.

RIP Bruce Ruxton.:(
 
vjknight said:
many folk disliked him for his old fashioned, perceived bigotted views.

but if you knew people who had served in war who needed assistance, bruce was the man to get wrongs righted and gain much deserved respect to our returned servicemen and their families.

a great man.
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For his own generation.

Commiserations to his family.
 

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vjknight said:
many folk disliked him for his old fashioned, perceived bigotted views.

but if you knew people who had served in war who needed assistance, bruce was the man to get wrongs righted and gain much deserved respect to our returned servicemen and their families.

a great man.
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He devoted his life to the assistance of men and women who sacrificed.
No matter his politic or bigotry a great contributor.
 
Vale Bruce Ruxton indeed.

I have an enormous respect for the point of view of those - whatever their views - whose beliefs have been forged in the furnesses of hard life experiences.

I have an enormous admiration for those - whatever their views - who are prepared to put up their hand and say what they believe in and stand for, and who do so even when facing a storm of political correctness.

Ironically, it's people like Bruce Ruxton who make our society liberal.
 
Seriously, the guy fought for the rights of ex servicemen and women for the majority of his life, and died a long slow death from a debilitating illness, I think if you can't say anything nice, don't post in this thread.

RIP Bruce.
 
Fought for the rights of ex servicemen? ...Bruce? Someone has been rewriting history ..

Bruce was an ordinary bloke...a very ordinary one..at least he had good taste in his football
 
The man was a racist and a bigot who used his public standing to justify his outdated and unjustified beliefs.
 

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mattys123 said:
Seriously, the guy fought for the rights of ex servicemen and women for the majority of his life, and died a long slow death from a debilitating illness, I think if you can't say anything nice, don't post in this thread.

RIP Bruce.
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He fought very strongly for the rights of ex-servicemen from WW2 and Korea, however he refused to recognise those who did the same in Vietnam.
But any good work he did, and to be fair he did do some really good work, got lost in his hatred of anyone non-white or non-Anglo
 
otfc42 said:
The man was a racist and a bigot who used his public standing to justify his outdated and unjustified beliefs.
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That he was, and that he did.

But his legacy, as 76ws suggested, was to make the general population less so; given his expression of his views was so overly strong and right wing, that most resisted or opposed whatever he said.
 
Swooop said:
That he was, and that he did.

But his legacy, as 76ws suggested, was to make the general population less so; given his expression of his views was so overly strong and right wing, that most resisted or opposed whatever he said.
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Agreed swoop but his views did do damage - to the RSL itself, not from the hard core members but certainly from the wider population and those latter day servicemen whose nose he certainly got up.
 
Whether or not we agreed with what he said he is still deserving of our respect for what he went through during the war or wars and that applies to all servicemen,I did not agree with what he had to say for the most part but he had earned the right to say it even if we do not agree.

I have not had to fight in a war and possibly give up my life but I have the utmost respect for those that have whether I like their politics or not.


Vale Bruce.
 
Bruce Ruxton fought in the armed services in defence of our country and our way of life. And that way of life includes diversity of opinion and freedom of expression. It wasn't Bruce Ruxton who said "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." (that's attributed to Voltaire) but it is apt nonetheless. Would my personal views on immigration be any different to Bruce's if I had spent my formative years fighting the Japanese during World War II? Maybe not. Of course, there are many examples of returned soldiers who reconcilled themselves with the enemy, but there are many who did not.

Bruce Ruxton was the elected and re-elected President of a highly respected democratic organisation of elders who fought in defence of our country and our way of life. Somebody must have voted for him again and again, and there must have been a reason why they did.

Vehemently disagreeing with Bruce's views is not a reason to disrespect him. To use a few football analogies: I respect Carlton because they are the enemy. I admire Chris Scott because he has achieved the ultimate success as a rookie coach of a team on the way down. That doesn't mean I like Carlton or Chris Scott - I've got good cause for hating both. As much as I hate Carlton - believe it or not - I would be bitterly disappointed if they fell on hard times and "died" as a football club.

Our society is rich and liberal because of diversity of opinion, even with those dissenting opinions that fly in the face of political correctness. North Korea has been in the news a bit lately. I'm guessing that there aint too many Bruce Ruxtons in North Korea who stand up and dissent against political correctness. And I'm guessing that any that do are summarily executed. I'd rather our way of life thanks. If that means listening to a cranky old man (or woman, greetings Ms Hanson) expouting right wing views on the box occasionally, then that's a small price to pay.
 
I certainly don't disrespect the man, he earned that with his service to the country. But he certainly didn't 'earn the right' to bad mouth sections of the community - including latter day members of his own origination, misusing his position to force his increasingly minority views down others throats because he had a public platform as leader of the RSL.
 
76woodenspooners said:
Vale Bruce Ruxton indeed.

I have an enormous respect for the point of view of those - whatever their views - whose beliefs have been forged in the furnesses of hard life experiences.

I have an enormous admiration for those - whatever their views - who are prepared to put up their hand and say what they believe in and stand for, and who do so even when facing a storm of political correctness.

Ironically, it's people like Bruce Ruxton who make our society liberal.
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How I missed this earlier....

Your views exactly imitate those of some of the most infamous dictators in history. You have used the statement "Whatever their views" twice. I know that some who read this may well think that I'm going overboard, however, I can think of numerous people who in the face of political correctness stood up for what they believe in.....Hitler, Mugabi etc.

Before you criticise my point of view too quickly, take some time and REALLY read the quoted text.

This is a football forum.....
 
76woodenspooners said:
Bruce Ruxton fought in the armed services in defence of our country and our way of life. And that way of life includes diversity of opinion and freedom of expression. It wasn't Bruce Ruxton who said "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." (that's attributed to Voltaire) but it is apt nonetheless. Would my personal views on immigration be any different to Bruce's if I had spent my formative years fighting the Japanese during World War II? Maybe not. Of course, there are many examples of returned soldiers who reconcilled themselves with the enemy, but there are many who did not.

Bruce Ruxton was the elected and re-elected President of a highly respected democratic organisation of elders who fought in defence of our country and our way of life. Somebody must have voted for him again and again, and there must have been a reason why they did.

Vehemently disagreeing with Bruce's views is not a reason to disrespect him. To use a few football analogies: I respect Carlton because they are the enemy. I admire Chris Scott because he has achieved the ultimate success as a rookie coach of a team on the way down. That doesn't mean I like Carlton or Chris Scott - I've got good cause for hating both. As much as I hate Carlton - believe it or not - I would be bitterly disappointed if they fell on hard times and "died" as a football club.

Our society is rich and liberal because of diversity of opinion, even with those dissenting opinions that fly in the face of political correctness. North Korea has been in the news a bit lately. I'm guessing that there aint too many Bruce Ruxtons in North Korea who stand up and dissent against political correctness. And I'm guessing that any that do are summarily executed. I'd rather our way of life thanks. If that means listening to a cranky old man (or woman, greetings Ms Hanson) expouting right wing views on the box occasionally, then that's a small price to pay.
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Diversity of opinion and freedom of expression cannot include racism.
If you are hinting that Bruce was free to hold his views because of 'freedom of speech' then that is also incorrect because we have specific laws limiting vilification against individuals and groups based on race, sex, politics and religion etc.
Just because someone was in the armed services doesn't give them immunity from those laws.

The redeeming thing about society is we learn, we gain an eduction, we have understanding; in short we progress. What we did or said years ago in many cases is no longer acceptable. Bruce never learned that.
That 'way of life' you say Bruce fought for, now includes tolerance and compassion.

Bruce did not recognise Vietnam vets as legitimate returned soldiers and was at one point opposed to them marching on ANZAC day, he finally relented as long as the marched at the rear of the parade.

I find that people who use the term political correctness as a way of dismissing other points of view, usually use it as a cop out in place of reasoned discussion.
 
otfc42 said:
I know that some who read this may well think that I'm going overboard, however, I can think of numerous people who in the face of political correctness stood up for what they believe in.....Hitler, Mugabi etc.
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Yep, you're right. And you could also add to that list Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, the anti Vietnam movement, etc, etc. (They may seem politically correct today, but it wasn't always that way).

What's the solution? Should only those who have politically correct points of view be allowed to stand up for what they believe in? Who decides what is politically correct or incorrect? Both Hitler and Magabe were first voted into power in free and fair elections.

Both Hitler and Magabe were charismatic candidates and they probably commanded a lot of respect and/or admiration from their constituents. But in my opinion, that's not a reason to agree with their point of view or to vote for them. As I said in another post, I respect Carlton and I admire Chris Scott, but it doesn't mean I like them or cheer for them. I respect Bruce Ruxton for fighting for this country, and I admire him for standing up for what he believes in. But that doesn't mean that I would give him power by voting for him in an election.
 
Baltimore Jack said:
Diversity of opinion and freedom of expression cannot include racism.
If you are hinting that Bruce was free to hold his views because of 'freedom of speech' then that is also incorrect because we have specific laws limiting vilification against individuals and groups based on race, sex, politics and religion etc.
Just because someone was in the armed services doesn't give them immunity from those laws.
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I agree that Bruce had to follow the laws of the land. And all the more so for fighting in the armed services - surely that's what he was fighting for. But to my knowledge, Bruce was never charged or convicted with breaking any laws.

The redeeming thing about society is we learn, we gain an eduction, we have understanding; in short we progress. What we did or said years ago in many cases is no longer acceptable. Bruce never learned that.
That 'way of life' you say Bruce fought for, now includes tolerance and compassion.
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There is always going to be conflict between progressive and conservative thinking, and progressive thinking is not always right.

Bruce did not recognise Vietnam vets as legitimate returned soldiers and was at one point opposed to them marching on ANZAC day, he finally relented as long as the marched at the rear of the parade.
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I have not defended nor am I defending any of Bruce Ruxtons views - that's best left to those who elected and re-elected him. I am only defending his right to have his views.

I find that people who use the term political correctness as a way of dismissing other points of view, usually use it as a cop out in place of reasoned discussion.
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True, that does happen. But I doubt that's any more common than those who form their views through Political Correctness rather than reason.
 
Bruce did not recognise Vietnam vets as legitimate returned soldiers and was at one point opposed to them marching on ANZAC day, he finally relented as long as the marched at the rear of the parade.
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That is incorrect. When the Vietnam Vets returned, the majority of the Australian public treated this group with disrespect. They spat on them at airports, they called them baby killers and other assorted things.

Ruxton followed the lead of RSL Australia wide and was slow to embrace Vietnam Vets. Even in this period till 1987 (that is when they accepted them back) he campaigned for their TPI rights and the rights of widows of this war. It wasn't Ruxton himself being outspoken about the Vets, he was part of a culture within the RSL at the time. Most WW 2 vets had this feeling, they believed they were superior (it happend with WW1 vets towards WW2 vets) but eventually they accepted that the younger generation of vets would carry forward the RSL.

My old man is high up in the RSL (he went to Vietnam too) and is on their excec board, most of that group now have the utmost respect for Ruxton, the current Victorian President is a Vietnam Vet too, he was mentored many years by Ruxton. What you're saying is quite simply a load of bollocks and to single him out for it is hugely disrespectful.
 
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